By Ronnie Flores

It's not how you start, but how you finish and for teams that do suffer a loss at an inopportune time, the hope should be that their foes do well the rest of the way. That theme definitely applied to the team at Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.). The Pumas began No. 33 in the preseason FAB 50 after capturing the first ever Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) open division state tile in 2222-23. Perry dropped out of the nation's longest-running weekly national rankings earlier this season after dropping games to Arizona clubs, including Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.), the team it beat in last year's open title game.

This week the Pumas made a grand return as the highest of six newcomers at No. 34 after defeating then No. 38 Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.), 71-67, to repeat as AIA open division state champs. Millennium had an early 17-point lead, but Perry chipped away at its deficit behind some big shots by guard Barron Silsby down the stretch and the clutch play of All-American Koa Peat. Silsby had 10 second half points to help Perry overcome a 41-32 halftime deficit, while Peat, still a junior and a returning first team Elite All-American, finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

Millennium's Sabien Cain finished with 33 points, including an incredible seven 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game for a team that drops five spots this week. Sunnyslope was the only in-state team Perry didn't end up defeating, as its out of state losses were to No. 18 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) and to No. 10 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), twice. On Tuesday, Harvard-Westlake hosts No. 24 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) in the California InterscholasticFederation (CIF) SoCal open division regional title game with the winner taking on either No. 37 Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) or unranked Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) for the CIF Open Division state title on March 9 at the Golden One Center in Sacramento.

It goes without saying Perry would benefit from Harvard-Westlake winning back-to-back open state crowns, while Salesian would hop the Pumas if it goes on to win its final two games to capture its first CIF open state title. Perry has now won three consecutive AIA state titles and Peat has never lost a AIA playoff game in his stellar three-year career. Perry defeated Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) in the semifinals, 83-79, as Peat poured in 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Another team enjoying a three-peat that finished strong is No. 28 Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.), which captured the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) Class AA title with a 47-37 victory over St. John's (Washington, D.C.). The Quakers got 16 points from Acaden Lewis and 15 from Jalen Rougier-Roane in the title game victory. The big win in terms of rankings position, was the 53-52 semifinal victory over then No. 16 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), as the Quakers' Lewis was a difference-maker in a tight game with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Sidwell Friends has now won three consecutive DCSAA state titles and four in the past five seasons and is up 18 spots this week. The Purple Eagles, who were runners-up in the WCAC Tournament to No. 3 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) on Monday, drop 13 spots but can't go down any further. No. 30 Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) has only lost in overtime to WCAC member Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.), a team Gonzaga split with. No. 31 Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) has also lost to Bishop O’Connell with another loss to a club Gonzaga beat: Westminster Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Oak Ridge's third loss is to FAB 50 No. 1 Montverde Academy of Florida.

This Friday, Oak Ridge will battle No. 46 Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) in the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 7A semifinals. The other semifinal pits Evans (Orlando, Fla.) vs. No. 2 Columbus (Miami) with the winners of each game playing on Saturday evening.

In addition to Florida and California, another power state that will crown state champions this week is Texas. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A Final Four will take place at The Alamodome in San Antonio. No. 5 and unbeaten Plano East (Plano, Texas) will take on Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) in one semifinal, with No. 6 Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas) facing new No. 49 Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) in the other. Beaumont United will be making its fourth consecutive state Final Four appearance, while Stony Point has only lost to Plano East.

Another attractive state final takes place in Georgia, where the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAAAAA title game at the Macon Coliseum pits No. 20 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) vs. No. 35 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) on Saturday evening. Grayson has only lost to state champ and No. 25 Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) and to Perry.

The 2023-24 season will conclude with the Chipotle High School Basketball Nationals, April 4-6, at Brownsburg (Ind.) just outside of Indianapolis. Expect an invite for Columbus provided it captures a state title and the other top four teams in the FAB 50. All games at the event will be broadcast live on ESPN platforms.

RELATED: ?Preseason 2023-24 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | | ??

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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In the inaugural State Champions Invitational, the big question going into the event in April 2022 was if any of the other three teams could compete with Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). In the end, the Eagles rolled to the tournament title to finish No. 7 in the final 2021-22 FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

This season, the two additional teams were added to the field and the 6-team event was much more competitive. In the end, once again the highest ranked FAB 50 club claimed the title as No. 16 Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.), the District of Columbia Schools Athletic Association (DCSAA) Class AA champs, bested then No. 31 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 57-54, in Saturday's championship game at Georgetown University, a mere three miles from the Quakers' campus.

Coach Eric Singletary's club was led to victory by junior (2024) forward Caleb Williams, who hit five 3-pointers and scored on a variety of jumpers to finish with 24 points. Second seeded Sidwell Friends, who defeated third seeded and FAB 50 No. 45 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah), 60-53, in the semifinals, trailed top seeded Wheeler 47-40 entering the fourth period. Wheeler outscored the Quakers, 45-25, after trialing at the beginning of the game 15-2. Sidwell Friends took control of the game in the fourth quarter with its pressure defense and eventually took a 50-49 lead with 3:26 remaining on Williams' turnaround jumper.

Sidwell Friends got a huge offensive rebound putback from senior forward Chris Russell with 1:30 remaining to give his team a 55-50 lead and senior guard Arinze Achufusi canned two free throws with nine seconds remaining to account for the final margin.

Williams, named the SCI's Most Valuable Player, had 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the semifinal win over Corner Canyon. Lehigh-bound point guard Cam Gillus led in the scoring department with 19 points and added seven steals.

Wheeler, which was playing at the event without USC-bound point guard and Mr. Basketball USA candidate Isaiah Collier, was led in the title game by Iowa St.-bound Jelani Hamilton with 20 points, including 4-of-5 3-point shooting. Wheeler, the Georgia High School Association?(GHSA) Class AAAAAAA champions, defeated FAB 50 No. 21 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), 78-68, in its semifinal contest. USC-bound center Arringten Page had 24 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Hamilton added 22 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

It was an impressive closing to the season for the Quakers, whose girls' program also was victorious at the SCI, but as far as its final FAB 50 ranking goes, it had nowhere to move but held serve by holding off Wheeler. Sidwell Friends lost to No. 15 Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas), the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A runner-up, while Williams was nursing injury. As for Wheeler, it gets rankings credit for its showing at the CSI without the services of one of the nation's very best players. It moves up 11 spots in front of the Roselle Catholic club it beat in the semifinals. Wheeler must finished in front of the Centennial (Corona, Calif.) club it beat at the City of Palms Tournament in December.

The CSI results caused some change in the bottom 25 of the FAB 50, but no team dropped out from last week. GEICO Nationals champ Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) is officially the 2022-23 FAB 50 National Champs. On April 1, the Lions defeated No. 9 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) to capture the tournament title. Link Academy, which lost one game to No. 2 Montverde Academy (Fla.) during the regular season, won the event for the first time and defeated six FAB 50 ranked teams during the season.

"It is an absolute honor to be ranked No. 1 in the FAB 50 final poll," said Link Academy first year head coach Bill Armstrong. "From day one our players and staff have been working towards being the No. 1 team in the country. To see all of that hard work pay off and obtain the ultimate goal is a surreal feeling for all of us!"

RELATED: ?Updated 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | | ? | Final East Top 20 | Final Southeast Top 20??| Final Midwest Top 20?| Final Southwest Top 20 | Final West Top 20?

FINAL FAB 50 National Team Rankings
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(17th and final poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Saturday, April 8; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)

Dropped Out: None.

Editor's Note: No bubble clubs are included in the final FAB 50, as the final 2022-23 Top 20 Regional Rankings include all the teams considered for the bubble.

Note:?The FAB 50 powered by www.ebooksnet.com is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 23 years ago.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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